A new bill in the U.S. House of Representatives would improve the quality of America’s health care infrastructure by further integrating doctors of chiropractic (DCs) through the nation’s official delivery and research networks. H.R. 3851, introduced by Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas), calls for the appointment of chiropractic physicians as officers in the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps. “A top priority of the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) has always been to increase access to and utilization of chiropractic services available through the federal government,” said ACA President Anthony Hamm, DC. “The services of chiropractic physicians will be a tremendous value to the Public Health Service’s Commissioned Corps, and enacting this legislation will be another important milestone in the mission to fully integrate chiropractic care into the nation’s health care delivery system.” H.R. 3851 would include DCs in the USPHS Regular Corps and the Ready Reserve Corps, and would require the president, in consultation with the Surgeon General and the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, to appoint no fewer than six DCs to the Commissioned Corps. Although the Commissioned Corps includes representatives from many diverse health care professions, no DCs have ever been appointed to serve. “Chiropractic physicians already serve our nation’s active-duty military and veterans with distinction,” said Dr. Hamm. “H.R. 3851 will allow DCs to join forces with other health care providers in the fight against disease, poor health conditions and other threats during both non-emergency and emergency periods for our country. We extend our appreciation to Rep. Green for his effort to introduce this long-overdue legislation.” USPHS is an elite team of more than 6,000 full-time, well trained, highly qualified public health professionals dedicated to delivering the nation’s public health promotion and disease prevention programs and advancing public health science. As one of America's seven uniformed services, the Commissioned Corps fills essential public health leadership and service roles within the nation's federal government agencies and programs. Officers in the Corps provide health care services in a variety of locations and venues, including care to members of the U.S. Coast Guard and at community health centers.

Meditation and Yoga are known to drastically reduce stress, but they could also be the trick to staying healthier longer. In fact, a recent study asked various health providers to refer over 4,400 people to a "Relaxation Response Resiliency Program" to receive special Relax Response Training. This type of therapy calls for patients to perform intense relaxation exercises, like deep meditation and yoga positions, to loosen the grips of their anxiety and stress. In a stunning result, around 42% of the study participants who tried Relax Response Training greatly decreased their doctor visits the following year. This also includes a 44% drop in mandatory lab work and another 21% drop in other health-related appointments. The study also looked at roughly 13,000 people who had never received Relax Response Training and saw no decrease in their annual doctor visits. Decades of medical research shows a clear link between relaxation exercise, like yoga and meditation, and better overall health, but how does it keep the doctor away? Relax Response Training forces patients to slow down, take a breath, and focus intensely on their relaxation. This creates a positive physiological response that naturally reduces inflammation, improves muscle ability, and decreases stress to improve heart health.

Women diagnosed with Dementia experience a range of symptoms that affect their memory, and thus, affect their ability to handle everyday routines. One San Francisco study set out to find ways the medical community could spot potential risk factors early on in women. Dementia has a host of both physical and mental symptoms, but the researchers at the VA Medical Center focused on one particularly important symptom, acute memory loss. Over an 18-year period, researchers asked more than 1,000 female participants over the age of 65 if they were having problems remembering things, more so than friends and family. At the beginning of the study, almost 90 participants reported having issues with memory loss. At the end of the study, researchers found that half of the participants who documented memory loss at the start of the study were already diagnosed with either Dementia or cute cognitive issues. While researchers do acknowledge that some memory issues are a result of the normal aging process, there are still things people can do to keep their cognitive health strong, like exercising, eating right, regular sleep, and staying mentally stimulated through activities.